


nothing gold can stay

by americangrunge



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, bobby deserved to get dragged for operation nope so here it is, disaster recoupling, i love bobby but our boy is an idiot!, mention of smut but nothing explicit, operation nope, probably not super suitable for priya stans and bobby apologists, slight player!bobby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americangrunge/pseuds/americangrunge
Summary: As she wraps herself in Rahim's embrace, she can’t help but to look over at Bobby. God, it’s almost sadistic how much she loves watching him hurt, to finally come to terms with the fact that he’s lost her and only has himself to blame.---A canon rewrite of Operation Nope and the Disaster Recoupling. Bobby deserved to get dragged for being an idiot, so here it is.
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 54





	nothing gold can stay

**Author's Note:**

> Nature’s first green is gold,  
> Her hardest hue to hold.  
> Her early leaf’s a flower;  
> But only so an hour.  
> Then leaf subsides to leaf.  
> So Eden sank to grief,  
> So dawn goes down to day.  
> Nothing gold can stay.  
> — Robert Frost

**[Three Days Later]**

Jakub’s phone chimes with a text message. He rises to his feet, clearing his throat as he surveys the line of girls in front of him. If Carter didn’t know better, she’d say the absolute hulk of a man almost looks… _nervous_. The thought makes her palms sweat as the air seemingly crackles around her, drama looming around every turn.

She grabs Hope’s hand and sends up a silent prayer for all of them to get out of this in one piece.

“Alright,” he begins. “I want to couple up with this girl because I think a lot of people in here might have given up on her, and because I think I see something in her that nobody else does. She’s actually a great laugh, and I want to see where things could go with her.

“I always say I’m not afraid to shake things up. I want to see where my journey takes me, and hopefully this girl is by my side for the rest of it.” He takes a deep breath as his gaze lingers on each of the girls, one by one. Finally, they land on the girl at the end of the line and he smiles. “The girl I want to couple up with is Hope.”

Beside her, Hope lets out a relieved breath and returns Jakub’s smile. Carter squeezes her hand before she lets it go, her head nodding towards the personal trainer. “Go get your new man, babes.”

It’s delightful how hard Noah’s jaw is clenched, how determined he is to seem unbothered. Without sparing the librarian a second glance, Hope joins Jakub at his side and kisses him on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she says. “That was really sweet.”

True to his word, Jakub wraps an arm around her waist as they sit down together. “Of course, babe,” he says, just loud enough for Noah to hear. “You deserve someone who brings out the best in you.” Then, just a tad louder than last time: “More importantly, you deserve to be someone’s _first_ choice.”

Carter snorts.

Noah’s phone pings next and he stands on unsteady legs, his usual confidence nowhere to be found as his arms hang limp at his sides. Carter can’t help but feel he deserves this, deserves to feel even a fraction of the hurt and chaos he’s caused. He deserves to watch Hope be swept away by someone else—someone who actually has the stones to be honest and true to themselves. He deserves to be humiliated, too.

“Well, I… I think I…”

Lucas scoffs as he, too, finally reaches his breaking point with this whole pointless charade. “Hurry it up, mate. We haven’t got all day.”

“Right, yeah,” he says, avoiding everyone’s eye. “That was just a bit of a shock. I can’t honestly say I didn’t expect it, and I know what I want to do.” He takes a deep breath. “I’d like to couple up with this girl because, even though this wasn’t how I expected this evening to go, I’m excited to embrace the opportunity to give it a try with someone new.”

Hope can barely contain herself as she covers her mouth, her shoulders shaking in silent laughter beside Jakub. She makes eye contact with Carter and rolls her eyes as she mouths _he’s so full of shit_.

Undeterred, Noah continues. “I’ve wanted to get to know this girl since the first night and I can’t believe I finally get to say this.” With a broad smile, he locks eyes with half the source of Carter’s grief. “The girl I’d like to couple up with is… Priya.”

On the bench, Ibrahim’s shoulders slump despite knowing he’s been playing a losing game since the beginning. They’d had a lot of conversations, he and Carter, and she couldn’t help but feel for him. Priya had been the only girl he’d allowed to get close and she betrayed him without a second thought or a modicum of guilt.

“I’m so happy for you guys,” he says sarcastically. Hope leans over Jakub to place a reassuring hand on his knee. “Now you can finally shed your skin in public and stop doing it behind everyone’s backs.”

“Guys—” Bobby tries to cut in, but whatever he wants to say gets caught in his throat as Rahim sends him a look that can only be described as murderous.

“I don’t think _anyone’s_ interested in hearing from you anymore, mate,” the golfer snaps. “Time for you to finally just sit there and shut the fuck up. For once.”

Jakub whistles under his breath. This new version of Rahim couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

Lucas goes next and chooses Marisol, much to her delight, and Carter smiles. There truly was no better revenge than a good life, and seeing her two closest friends in partnerships they actually wanted to be in felt like winning the lottery—maybe better.

Having been uncharacteristically quiet this evening, Gary’s phone is the next to chime. He’s short on words as he chooses Chelsea, shocking no one but Lottie. All the drama has finally gotten to him, Carter thinks, and there’s hardly a more willing participant than the Aussie.

Now, with only Bobby and Rahim left to choose, an immense sense of relief washes over her as the latter’s phone dings, instructing him to make his choice.

The athlete’s figure is immense and looming as he stands. Just as Noah’s swagger had all but disappeared, Rahim stands with a convincing self-assuredness the group hadn’t seen before. As Carter surveys the group in front of her, it’s almost hard to find a single person she recognizes. The past few days seem to have changed all of them.

“Right. I think everyone knows this will be more of a friendship couple than a romantic one,” he starts, “but, like Hope, this girl deserves better than what she’s gotten in here. She deserves better than to go back to the person who broke her heart, and even though I doubt _anyone_ is actually good enough for her, I’m gonna keep her safe until someone comes in and sweeps her off her feet.”

Carter blinks back tears as Rahim’s eyes lock with her own. “The girl I’d like to couple up with is Carter.” He opens his arms wide as a grin overtakes his features. “C’mere, baby girl.”

As she wraps herself in his embrace, she can’t help but to look over at Bobby. God, it’s almost sadistic how much she loves watching him hurt, to finally come to terms with the fact that he’s lost her and only has himself to blame. Warmth floods her body as he makes a half-assed speech about why he wants to couple up with Lottie, as if he can’t think of anything worse, and it only intensifies when the recoupling comes to an end and, in a meek voice so unlike him, he asks to speak with her in private.

“No,” she answers simply. She hadn’t thought it possible, but his facade crumbles even more and she feels nothing but resentment towards him in this moment. How convenient that he only bothers to wear his heart on his sleeve when it no longer matters. “I’m done talking to you, Bobby. This,” she gestures between the two of them, “is over. You made plenty sure of that.”

“Carter, please—” he chokes out, his amber eyes brimming with tears.

Helpless, there’s nothing he can do but watch as she ignores him and walks back toward the Villa, her arm looped through Marisol’s. They whisper to one another, laughing raucously the entire way. Bobby can’t help but feel it’s at his expense.

He slumps back onto the bench, praying to God to dissolve him right into the fiberglass. Sobs wrack his body as he replays the last two weeks in his mind over and over. All his mistakes, everything he’d managed to get right—it’s all resulted in this moment, the grand finale of his own perfect storm.

“Oh, come off it,” Hope sneers at him. “You’ve no right to sit here and make a scene when you’ve done this to yourself, and… what? We’re meant to feel _sorry_ for you?”

Jakub wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, babe,” he says. It’s the kindest and most sincere Bobby has ever heard him sound. “It’s not worth it to keep rehashing this.”

As the two of them begin to walk away, Bobby gently grabs her wrist. Even though she rips her arm out of his grasp, she stills long enough for him to blurt out, “I’m sorry. I know I’ve said it a million times, but—”

The look in her eyes cements him in place. “You reap what you sow, Bobby. You played your stupid game and now you’ve won your stupid prize.”

Another sob escapes him as he cradles his head in his hands. _What the fuck has he done?_

_***_

**Carter, you and Bobby spent last night in the Hideaway. Did you get up to anything fun?**

“Oh,” she laughs, covering her face with her hands. “I should’ve expected this question, to be fair.”

A furious, scorching blush creeps down her body all the way to her toes. She can only imagine how red her face is, and the thought of her parents watching her squirm with tomato-red cheeks is enough to make her snort.

“Last night was, uh…” Unexpected. Passionate. All-encompassing. Perfect. “Last night was really nice,” she finally answers. “I don’t kiss and tell, but Bobby was a complete gentleman.”

That smirk will give her away, no doubt. There’d been nothing gentlemanly about him last night. Not the way he tore her clothes off, not the way he kissed her, deep and frantic, not the way he demanded she ride his face until she was a whimpering mess atop him, blissed-out and dazed from how hard he made her cum, twice, before he flipped her on her stomach, threaded those perfect hands into her hair, and fucked her exactly how he’d wanted.

She squeezes her thighs together as she reads the next question.

**Maybe you won’t ‘kiss and tell,’ but how are you feeling in your couple? Do you think last night brought you closer together?**

God, what is she meant to say to that? ‘ _You know, before Bobby fucked me ten ways to Sunday, I had some doubts he could handle me, but now he checks one-hundred percent of my boxes_ ’?

“I… I really, really like Bobby,” she admits. “I wasn’t sure what to expect at first—he’s so goofy and can be hard to read, and then Priya had nicked him off me for a bit—but I think things are in a really great place right now. I can’t remember the last time I felt this way about someone. There’s… there’s no one else I’d rather be with.”

She can hear Bobby’s voice in her head, has all his pillow talk and sweet-nothings from the night before memorized. _And this morning in the shower,_ she thinks. God, her parents are absolutely going to kill her once she gets out of here.

Coming on the show had just been for fun, a way to escape her job and all the insurmountable stresses of working in politics. Maybe that’s why she’d been so drawn to Bobby on that first day. Sure, he’s mostly everything she’s been looking for in a partner, but the sound of her own laughter had been foreign to her when he cracked that awful beefcake joke. Without even trying, Bobby had reminded her of who she used to be.

“Is it completely mental to feel this way about someone so quickly?” A realization dawns on her and she groans, grinning despite herself. “Oh god, I’m starting to sound like Hope, aren’t I?” She smiles wider, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”

***

As irksome as some of the other islanders find Marisol to be, Carter had felt an instant kinship with her on that first day: two women in high-stress fields with a shared caffeine addiction and a tendency to kiss pretty girls on nights out. So long as the law student withholds her analyses of her, the two of them get on like a house on fire.

She gets on with all the girls, really, though she splits most of her time between Marisol and Hope. Lottie is, well, _Lottie_ , and her and Priya’s friendship has been rocky at best since she stole her partner out from under her, leaving her vulnerable. Working in politics had taught her to be surface-level civil when she wanted to be anything but, and being able to keep a lid on her emotions is vital in a place like this. She’d watched the first season and vowed to keep herself in check, lest she get ripped to shreds and vilified on social media like Allegra had.

Additionally, she knows keeping the peace is important to Bobby, so by extension it’s also important to her. That boy is neutral to a fault, and though she enjoys his company, he frustrates her to tears sometimes. Someone like Carter, brash and unafraid to speak her mind, can’t really make sense of someone like him. Being able to navigate conflict is a skill, one her profession had forced her to acquire, but it seems as though he’d ignored the lesson altogether, opting to skip it in lieu of learning how to be a doormat.

“Good morning, mi cielito,” Marisol says, plopping herself onto a barstool across from her. “Is the coffee ready?”

Carter smiles at Marisol’s nickname for her. _My little sky._ During their game of Truth or Dare, Carter had sent the law student a selfie, thereby choosing her as the most attractive islander. Both of them knew it had just been banter, but Marisol had remarked that the pale blue of Carter’s eyes reminded her of the Majorcan sky, clear and vibrant with no clouds for miles.

“Of course, dear,” she laughs. She fills a cup nearly to the brim and slides it across the counter. “You know I can’t deny you of anything.”

Marisol studies her for a moment as a small smirk tugs at her lips. As much as she wants the goss, she decides not to question her about her night spent in the hideaway, opting instead to sip her coffee in silence. Carter will tell her when she’s ready. That much she’s certain of—they told one another everything.

Having not gotten the same memo, Hope bounds over and sits next to Marisol, a devious smile playing on her features. Without needing to be asked, Carter fills another mug with steaming water and hands it to Hope along with a box of assorted teabags.

“Don’t think I’m not going to grill you just because you’ve made me a tea.”

“Aw, damn,” Carter jokes, making a grab for Hope’s mug. “I guess I’ll be taking this back, then.”

Hope squeals. “Hey!” Carter raises her eyebrows, watching her with a bemused smirk as she dunks a mint teabag into the scalding water, knowing damn well it was her friend’s least favorite type of tea. Hope just laughs, hopping off the stool to fetch a clean mug to fix her own. “You’re such a little shit,” she says, hip-bumping Carter as she passes behind her.

“I know,” she grins. “But you two love me anyway.”

Marisol shrugs, unable to argue differently. “You got us there. _But_ we’re still gonna need those details, babe.”

Carter huffs dramatically, rolling her eyes in faux-annoyance. Of course she’s enjoyed everything about this experience, Bobby especially, but she’s always been a girl’s-girl. Before her flight to Spain, her nightmares hadn’t been about not being chosen by the boys or being mugged off on national television. No, she’d worried about being disliked by the girls, of being the one left out of all the gossip and bonding sessions.

“I’ll tell you _some_ things,” she compromises, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. “But no details! I’m not going traumatize my parents for life just for you two brats to get your fill of gossip.”

Next to her, Hope cackles as she fixes her tea. “Fine. Big bits or little bits?” she asks.

“Big,” Carter answers immediately and without hesitation. “Like, _big-_ big.”

Marisol and Hope squeal as Carter desperately tries to shush them, grinning just as wide as the two of them. The last thing she needs is for the rest of the Villa to hear them and give her away. Sharing with them was one thing—a contained fire, if you will—but she wasn’t ready for everyone to pry into her sex life just yet. There’ll surely be a challenge for that eventually.

“Was it good?” Marisol asks, waggling her eyebrows. “Is he… _you know._ ”

“Well-endowed?” Carter asks, filling in the blanks. Marisol nods. “Yes and yes.”

Hope mimes fanning herself. “Well _shit_ , girl. It’s always the ones you least expect.”

“Right?” Marisol laughs. “If you would’ve told me one day one that Noah and Bobby were gonna get laid before me, I would’ve called you a liar.”

Carter snorts. “Girl, please! Noah? Hope was giving that man fuck-me eyes the second she saw him.”

“Oh, I definitely was,” she shrugs. “I can’t even deny that one. Do you even know how hard it was to not do it that first night? My self-restraint was saintly.”

“Gross,” Marisol gags. “I’ve heard you and Noah fucking more times than I’m comfortable admitting, and there is _nothing_ saintly about the two of you.”

This sets the three of them off again as they playfully dig into Hope, ribbing her especially hard about the time Bobby had caught them in the dressing room cupboard.

“I’m not surprised you two did big bits,” Hope says once they calm down. “You look extremely loved-up today. Doesn’t she, Mars?”

“One-hundred percent.” She grabs her empty mug and moves to refill it. “Was he, like, super sweet, though?” Carter’s face flushes and Marisol shrieks with another round of laughter. “Not the sex part, you _perv_. I mean in general.”

Carter opens her mouth to speak before clamping it shut again. Everything Bobby had said to her was etched into her brain, his words lodging themselves in the oft-forgotten corners in an effort to remain there permanently. Yes, he _had_ been sweet—it’d been the type of sweet sincerity that catches you off-guard because you aren’t expecting it. She had expected him to be his usual self, full of jokes and self-deprecating humor the way he always was.

But he hadn’t been. Just as they were nodding off to sleep, he’d found her hand under the duvet and laced their fingers together. “What are you doing to me, lass?” he’d whispered. Even in the dark, Carter could see the vulnerability in his amber eyes.

_“What d’you mean, love?”_

_“I… I’m falling for you. I don’t—I don’t know if it’s just a summer fling or what, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about someone before.”_

_“Bobby—”_

_He squeezed his eyes shut tightly then, as if doing so could protect him from everything he was feeling. “I know it sounds mad, but you’re it for me in here. I don’t think I’ll ever feel like this about someone again.”_

_“Be careful what you say, babe,” she replied, her voice impossibly small. “Those are big words to live up to in a place like this.”_

_He pressed feather-light kisses to her neck. “I mean it, Carts. If you left tomorrow, I’d walk out right after you.”_

Hope and Marisol stare at one another, dumbfounded. “He said that?” they ask in unison, and their eyes grow wide as the moon when Carter nods.

“Fuuuck,” Marisol whistles. “I did not expect that out of him.”

Hope, somehow the more explicit of the two of them, just stares at her with a slack jaw before she finally says, “Jesus Christ, Carter. What kind of magical pussy do you _have_?”

***

Roughly thirty-six minutes into topping up her tan, Carter feels the beginning of a sunburn starting to form. She frowns, eventually dragging herself to her feet in search of sun cream. And more water, if her rapidly-approaching headache has anything to say about it.

“Carter!” she hears a familiar Scottish lilt call out her name. “Come join us!”

She spots him on a daybed along with Priya and Rahim. The sight of the estate agent is enough to make her cock an eyebrow. Maybe they were friendlier now than they had been at the start, but there’s still a part of her conscience screaming at her that Priya’s not to be trusted. Not around Bobby, anyway.

“Daybed double date!” Priya laughs.

A tight-lipped yet polite smile is all Carter has to offer as she approaches them. She pushes her sunglasses to the top of her head as she sits down, trying not to think too much into it when Bobby doesn’t move to touch her. Not a light tickle on her thigh, not a quick peck on the lips—he just stretches his arms over his head and lets out an exaggerated yawn.

“How’s it going?” he asks.

She stares at him for a moment, studying his face. “Yeah, fine. Just wanted to get some sun.”

Priya smiles at her all-knowingly. “You seem to be glowing this morning, babes.”

“Of course she is!” Bobby leans forward and presses a kiss to the top of her head. He quickly shifts into joke mode, adorning an announcer’s voice as he says, “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s that Hideaway Glow!”

Carter can’t help but laugh as she swats at his chest. “Did you kiss and tell, Robert?”

“Me?” he asks in mock-offense. “I’ve not said a peep all morning _despite_ numerous inquiries and bribes.”

“Ooh, did they offer you anything good? A few million pounds? A yacht, maybe?”

“Carter, you wound me. Your dignity and honor are worth more to me than a measly yacht.”

A flicker of annoyance flashes across Priya’s face as she clears her throat. “Um, let’s not forget why we called her over here, please.”

“We’ve already established that—to see her beautiful face!”

Carter looks between the three of them. Bobby seems to be the only one smiling, while Priya’s still scowling and Rahim just looks annoyed and on the brink of defeat.

“What’s going on?” she asks slowly.

Priya sighs. “So, like, listen,” she starts, rolling onto her stomach. “It’s weird how Hope and Noah got so serious so quickly, isn’t it?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. “Are we _really_ supposed to just stick with one person in here?”

Rahim rolls his eyes. “They already found what they wanted. Carter and Bobby, too. I don’t know why that’s so difficult for you to believe.”

“What are you say—” Carter begins to ask, but Bobby cuts her off.

“I don’t know,” he admits, watching as Hope and Noah splash one another in the pool. “I think it’s a bit suspicious, too.”

Her heart is in free-fall as his words sink in. This must be one of his pranks. Why else would he possibly agree with that? They’ve also been together since the first day and now, seemingly out of nowhere, it’s _suspicious_?

“I’m sorry?” Carter asks, making no attempt to hide the bite in her words.

Bobby can see the fire in her eyes, felt the way her body went rigid at the first sign of an argument. “Well, they’re obviously infatuated with each other,” he says, desperately trying to backtrack.

“Infatuation!” Priya exclaims, snapping her fingers. “That’s exactly it. There’s no way it can be real this soon.”

“We _do_ call them Nope for a reason,” Bobby agrees. “Sometimes I get the feeling they’re just performing.”

“Right?” Priya rolls her eyes. “They’re so fake.”

Carter extracts the Scot’s arm from her waist with a trembling hand, doing everything in her power to keep her composure. _Breathe,_ she tells herself. _Do not make a scene._

“I don’t know if they’re necessarily faking it,” Bobby says, blissfully unaware of the dangerous territory he’s wading into. “They’re just laying it on a bit thick. What do you think, lass?”

_Breathe._

_Breathe._

_Breathe._

“Hope is my friend,” she says through gritted teeth.

“Okay, but a _real_ friend would ask these kinds of questions, though,” Priya responds. The way she’s grinning makes Carter’s skin crawl, as if the worst is yet to come.

“That’s true,” Bobby concedes. “I’d be worried if a mate fell so hard for someone so quickly.”

Carter tries to catch Rahim’s eye to wordlessly ask him if this is just a sick joke. He can’t bring himself to look at her, and that tells her everything she needs to know.

“I think that tweet had been bang on. I think Hope _is_ playing that poor boy just to win,” Priya scowls. “We should test them just to see how loyal our resident power couple truly is.”

Carter feels like she’s been slapped by a fish. “ _What_?”

“Obviously one of us has to try and turn Noah’s head—”

“And _obviously_ I think it should be Priya,” Bobby follows up.

The estate agent giggles. “I don’t even fancy Noah,” she says, studying her nails, “but it’s just a fun little experiment.”

Bobby happily continues digging, unaware that the large hole he’s made is his own grave. “You know I’m not a jealous person, lass, so you can try too, if you want.”

“So, that’s the plan,” Priya says, clapping her hands together. The tone of her voice is practically begging Carter to kick off. The way she raises an eyebrow at her, as if presenting her with an unspoken challenge, just confirms it. “What do you think? Want to help us with _Operation Nope_?”

Carter pinches herself, convinced she’s dreaming. “Is this one of your pranks?” she asks Bobby, those sky-blue eyes now nothing but a narrow slit. “Hope is one of my closest friends in here. Surely you two couldn’t possibly be daft enough to actually say all of this in front of me.”

“Lass—”

Carter waves Bobby off, not at all interested in anything he can possibly say to justify this, as she turns to Priya. “Your idea of fun is trying to get someone to cheat on their partner?”

Priya scoffs. “It’s hardly cheating.”

White-hot anger consumes her. Tears prick at her eyes as she wraps her arms around herself, wondering just how in the fuck all of this happened. How long have they been plotting this? How can Bobby agree with it after everything he’d said to her?

She feels herself go pale.

The Mean Tweet challenge. The one that pegged Bobby as the Villa’s biggest player. He hadn’t even denied it, just laughed it off the way he did with everything else. Carter hadn’t thought much of it then but now her brain is in overdrive, bile rising in her throat as she finally asks herself if it could be true.

Has she been blind this entire time? Had she just given all of herself to a man who’d planned on stringing her along for a month for a shot at fifty grand?

When she finally looks Bobby in his eyes, his breath catches in his throat as he realizes immediately how fucked he is. “I can’t believe you,” she says, her voice thick with betrayal. “I’d expect it out of her, but you?”

“Carts, please—”

She stands, staring down at Priya with unfiltered disgust. “You’re fucking pathetic,” she spits. “You can’t ever just be happy with your own man, can you? No, you just _had_ to have Bobby first, then you dragged Rahim into this mess when he’s been nothing but good to you, and now you’re scheming on Noah.” A bitter, fractured laugh escapes her. “You can have a go at Lottie all you want about her fucked-up girl code, but you truly are the biggest slag here.”

Rahim stands too, moving quickly around the bed to wrap her in his arms. “Let’s go. Everyone’s starting to stare.”

“Let them,” Carter sneers. “These two deserve to be caught out. Hope deserves to know what they’ve been plotting behind her back.”

Hope’s head spins around at the mention of her name. She exchanges a confused look with Noah before making her way over, standing at her friend’s side as she continues to berate Bobby and Priya.

“God, I wish you two would’ve stayed together, because you’re just as bad as one another.” Bobby looks absolutely devastated as Carter looks him dead in the eye and delivers the final blow. “You would’ve done me a huge fucking favor, keeping him far away from me.”

As Rahim and Hope lead her away, Bobby scrambles after them. “Carter, wait, please.”

She gives him the finger over her shoulder and, once she reaches the bathroom, breaks down into tears. Even if she’s wrapped in the arms of her friends, she’s never felt so alone in her life.

***

All she wants to do is go home.

She can’t be arsed with any of this—getting dressed up, having a party, watching her friends waste their time worrying about her when they should be having fun. While she certainly hadn’t suffered under the delusion that her time in the Villa would be drama-free or even easy, she must’ve been a horrible person in a past life to deserve this.

While life continues on without her, Carter grabs a bottle of champagne and a single glass, making her way to the roof terrace to spend the evening alone. After spending the rest of her afternoon in bed, she’d gotten dolled up just like the producers asked. Surely they’d let her have this one.

Bass reverberates off the stone facade as she listens to the laughter below her. As she looks over the railing, she spots Marisol and Hope grinding jokingly on Rahim who’s so embarrassed he has his hands covering his face. He seems to be doing well, all things considered, although he’d been more than happy to let Carter sling the insults. At least he’d had her back.

She fills her glass and necks it, barely registering the taste as it slides down her throat. She does this twice more before hushed voices draw closer, eventually bursting through the terrace door.

“Ah,” she chimes, delighting in the deer-in-headlights look both Bobby and Priya have adopted. “It must be my lucky day.”

Bobby wraps an arm around Priya’s waist, angling her toward the door. “We’ll go. We didn’t know you were up here.”

“I’m sure the hideaway is open if you’d like to chat more shit to one another.” Her gaze locks on Bobby, a sardonic smile peering at him over the rim of her glass. “You’ve even had practice, seeing as you were there last night chatting shit to me.”

The Scot sighs. “That’s enough, Carter. Priya already feels bad enough, all right?”

“Well, she should. I was hoping the guilt of it all might drive you both out of the Villa, but I guess there’s still time for that fantasy to come true.”

Priya stays silent as Bobby takes a step forward, seemingly ready to square up to her. “So this is how it’s gonna be between us? You just get to sit there and sling shit at the two of us when you won’t even hear me out?”

Carter shrugs. “I’m not all that interested in anything you’ve got to say, to be honest.”

“I don’t fucking care,” Bobby replies. He pulls at his locs in frustration, that familiar anger of his punk days coming to greet him like an old friend. He turns to Priya, his eyes immediately kind as he says, “You should go enjoy yourself downstairs. I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Carter can’t help but laugh. “Ooh, classic Bobby. That is just _so_ you to try and be everyone’s knight in shining armor.”

Once Priya is gone, Bobby turns to her with his fists clenched at his side, all the intense fury of a million suns behind his golden eyes. “I don’t even know who the fuck you are right now, Carter.”

“Oh?” she asks, a perfectly-groomed eyebrow raised. “Let me tell you where I’m at, then.”

She stands, easily meeting his height in her heels. As angry as he is, Bobby knows he’d get down on his knees as beg her for forgiveness as soon as she said the word. He wouldn’t deny her of anything. He couldn’t, not when she looks like this: her blue eyes framed in dark makeup, her hair falling down her shoulders in loose waves, the deep cut of her dress barely containing her breasts—the same ones he left open-mouthed, wet kisses all over the night before.

Worst of all, she looks so unbothered. She doesn’t give a fuck about him in this moment at all, and the realization is enough to bring him to his knees.

“Do you remember what you said to me last night, babe? That you were falling for me and I was your one and only? That you’d follow me out of this Villa if I left?” Her head cocks to the side, her painted lips spelling out Bobby’s demise as she smirks. “Do you remember saying those things?”

He swallows hard. All the fight has left his body and now he’s empty, left standing in the middle of the roof terrace with a woman who’d love to eat him alive. He doesn’t want to argue anymore. “Aye,” he says quietly, “I remember.”

“Great. Now, sparing me your bullshit, please explain to me how all those pretty words you said to me last night match up with what you said earlier.”

“Lass, I wasn’t—”

“You weren’t _what_ , Bobby? You weren’t thinking?” His Adam’s apple bobs noticeably as he nods. “I said _without_ the bullshit.”

His body visibly deflated as he squats, his head in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he croaks. “I _wasn’t_ thinking—that’s the truth. I just got so caught up in that stupid fucking plan that I… I just never stopped to think how you might feel about it.”

Anger bubbles in her stomach once again. “Story of my fucking life with you,” she spits. “I’ve been coupled up with you since day one and somehow I’ve always managed to come dead fucking last to you.”

Bobby’s head snaps up at that. “That’s not true.”

“No? Were you thinking about me when you schemed up this sick plan with Priya?”

“No,” he whispers.

“How about when you spent an entire day baking cupcakes for poor old Lottie, hm? When you offered to spend the night outside with her and give her a massage in front of a _room full of people_ just because she couldn’t deal with the consequences of her own actions? Were you thinking of me then?”

“No.”

“Were you thinking of me when Priya dressed up in her finest lingerie after stealing you from me and I slept outside by myself?”

His eyes squeeze shut as he winces. “That wasn’t my fault.”

“Was it your fault when she kissed you? When you admitted to flirting with her after telling me you didn’t want her to pick you?”

He presses his back against the door, sliding down until he’s sat on the ground. He tucks his head between his knees as he tries to steady his breathing. Everything feels too intense; he feels too big for his body. The Spanish air is suffocating and all he can feel is regret.

“Yes,” he chokes out. “All of this was my fault.”

Another bitter laugh. “Oh, I’m not done yet, babes.” She squats in front of him. “Were you thinking about me when the world pegged you as a player and maintaining your precious Captain B. Smooth identity was more important than reassuring me?”

“Please stop,” he begs her.

Her eyes are emotionless as she ignores him. “Yes or no?”

“No.”

“I can’t hear you, Bobby.”

“I said no,” he repeats.

She places her hand beneath his chin, forcing him to look at her. “How about when you couldn’t give two fucks less about Lucas and Henrik asking me on dates? Hmm? Was your stupid fucking prank more important than listening to me then? Was encouraging me to go on that second date more important than realizing you were pushing me away?”

Tears fall freely down his cheeks as guilt consumes him. What the fuck has he done? What in the actual fuck has he done?

Carter returns to full height, returning to her previous spot on the bench. A harsh silence fills the air as she refills her glass, her back to him as she stares down at the lawn. No one’s paying them any mind—not in real life, at least. She’d forgotten about the cameras until now and spares a second to wonder just how badly she’s going to be crucified for daring to speak to Love Island’s fan favorite this way.

“Put yourself in my shoes, Bobby,” she says, still refusing to face him. “Imagine believing all those things you said to me last night only to be told today a day-one relationship couldn’t possibly be real.” Insults bite at the back of her teeth and she does her best to swallow them. As she finally spins on her heel, meeting his gaze, Bobby finally sees her own tear-stained cheeks. “I gave you all of myself last night and you asked me to cheat with my best friend’s partner.”

“I’m sorry,” is all he says.

Another uneasy silence falls between them. Unspoken words hang in the air and Bobby is desperate to catch whichever one affords him the opportunity to apologize properly and fix this, but he knows it doesn’t exist. Maybe there would’ve been a chance a few days ago. Not now, though, and probably never again.

“It was right, you know.” She digs nonexistent dirt from beneath her fingernails. “The tweet,” she clarifies.

“No it wasn’t,” he fires back, feeling his anger and frustration clawing their way back. “I may have been a fucking idiot, but I’m not a player.”

Carter clicks her tongue. “But you _have_ been playing a game, haven’t you? What was your plan, just keep playing me for a fool until the finale? Make me fall for you just enough to keep me around, maybe cross your fingers and hope I wouldn’t read your list of transgressions?”

Bobby’s on his feet before he even feels himself move, kneeling in front of her as she stares right through him. All that anger and frustration has dissipated and desperation has settled in now. He knows what’s at the end of this conversation, where their path has been headed all along. And he’s trying to stop it, but he’s just treading water now. The waves will pull him under soon enough and, when they do, he’ll drown willingly.

“I haven’t been good to you,” he says, a cautious hand moving to thumb away her tears, “but I swear to _god_ , Carter, I haven’t lied to you. Not once.”

She wants to push back, drag him to hell and back just because she can and he deserves it, but she just moves his hand off her face and smiles. “Okay, Bobby,” is all she says.

There’s no fight left in her anymore and Bobby thinks that’s somehow worse than being screamed at. Exhaustion settles over her and it’s all she can do to make it to the door. How could someone cause her this much damage in only a week and a half? How could she have been so stupid to let herself fall this hard for a stranger? Of course this is how it ends; it was only ever going to end like this.

“Is this it, then?” Bobby asks, his voice infinitesimally small. “Are we over?”

Carter sighs as she grips the doorknob. “Yeah, Bobby,” she answers. “We’re over.”

A strangled sob escapes him. “And there’s nothing I can say to change your mind?”

“No.”

“Please,” he begs. Two strides are all it takes for him to reach her. He takes her face in his hands, searching her eyes for any sign of hope. “Whatever you want, please just tell me. I don’t—I can’t lose you. Fuck, lass, _please_. You’re the only fucking person I care about in this place.” He takes a deep breath. “I’ll never talk to Priya or Lottie again, for fuck’s sake. I—”

“I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you,” Carter says. “I do wish things would’ve gone differently.”

“ _Don’t._ Please don’t.”

God, his irises look like liquid gold when his eyes are bloodshot. All she wants to do is crumble, to drop this stupid farce and let him spend the rest of their days here making it up to her. She wants to slap some sense into him, let him take her right here and now, let him fuck her so hard she’s able to ignore just how much her heart aches, both _for_ him and because of him.

Perspective tells her she might be overreacting, that Bobby has always tried to be too big for his britches and he was probably being honest when he told her he’d gotten swept up. But perspective also tells her she only gets a chance like this once, and does she really want to spend the rest of her summer with someone who can so easily disregard her the moment another crisis pops up? Can she stomach always playing second fiddle to whichever damsel Bobby perceives to be in distress?

Sensing the tiniest bit of reprieve, Bobby hesitantly asks, “You said your piece. Can I say mine?”

“Be my guest.”

Bobby sighs. “I’m not… I haven’t been playing a game with you. I don’t want you to think that. It’s just… I guess I got caught up in being here. Everyone here is so different to my mates back home and I guess I just thought, like, ‘take the path of least resistance,’ you know? So I’ve been driving myself mad trying to be everything to everyone—”

“And treated me like shit in the process.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” he says quietly. “I’ve been more open with you than anyone else here, so I figured, like, _Carter gets me, Carter will understand why I have to fix this. She won’t think I’m mugging her off._ I didn’t bother to check in with you because I didn’t think I had to.” He sniffles, trying to keep himself from crying again. “Clearly I was wrong, and clearly I’ve hurt you, but that was never my intention.”

“And this shit with Priya today?”

“I don’t have a good enough explanation for that.”

Carter scoffs. “Try.”

“She… she does actually like him. Noah. She told me the other day after the dumping, said she wasn’t all that fussed when Rahim was in the bottom three because he wasn’t her top choice.”

“Was she planning on talking to Hope about this? Or even Noah?”

Bobby shrugs. “I’m not sure. She hadn’t brought it up again until this morning. To be fair, Noah’s pretty unapproachable—it’s not like you can catch him on his own. Then, when I was chatting to her this morning, I told her how nice our night had been, and—”

Anger explodes inside her like a flash bomb. “So you _did_ talk to her about it?”

“And? So did you,” Bobby replies defensively. “We all heard the three of you laughing your asses off about it.”

“There’s a difference, you daft prick! I talked to my _friends_. Do you think I’d care if you talked to Gary or one of the other boys? Why the fuck would you think it’s a good idea to talk about fucking me to the slag who stole you off me and made a fucking show of kissing you as soon as she’d done it?”

Bobby takes a deep breath. “Okay, okay. You’re right. We can discuss that part later.” He runs his hands over his face as he continues. “She told me about the plan this morning while you were talking to Marisol and Hope. Rahim wanted no parts of it, so I guess some stupid part of me felt obligated, and an even stupider part of me figured it was a test.”

Cynical laughter erupts out of her as the dots of her and Bobby’s relationship connect in her brain. “Of course it was. All of this was a test, wasn’t it? You weren’t secure enough to just believe I could actually like you, so you’ve just been pushing me constantly—trying to get me to crack on with Noah, encouraging me to go on all these dates, you fucking about with Lottie.”

“Carter—”

“All because you’re a coward,” she says, nearly in disbelief. “That’s why you only said that shit to me in the Hideaway, isn’t it? Because no one was around to hear it? Because if I _did_ crack on with someone else, everyone could just shrug their shoulders and say, ‘Oh well! Good thing Bobby didn’t like her all that much anyway!’”

Eyes fixed on the ground, Bobby doesn’t answer. He can’t. Carter’s had his number pegged since the first day.

“You could’ve just asked. I don’t think I’ve ever given you any reason to doubt how I felt about you, but I much rather would’ve given you whatever reassurance you needed than be humiliated this way.”

“…Felt?”

“Yes, Bobby. _Felt._ The version of you I felt that way about clearly doesn’t exist.” She straightens her posture, smoothing her dress over her hips. “Look at what a fucking mess you and Priya have made. How many relationships have you two ruined in a single day?”

“It’s not—”

“Should we count them? Hm?” She begins counting off on her fingers. “Priya and Rahim, Hope and Noah, you and me. Oh! And all your sneaky behavior with Lottie has put Gary off her for good, so there’s another one down.” Contempt drips from her words as she says, “I really hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“I’m sorry—”

Carter jerks the door open, one foot back into the Villa and out of his life. “I’m done with your games, Bobby. Just stay the fuck away from me.”

He says nothing as she walks away.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've been wanting to write this for a while now. I'm sure my fellow Bobby stans might hate Carter (sorry!!!), but I really think Operation Nope should've been the end of Hope and Noah's couple and everyone involved in it deserved to get reamed. I'm also a slight Hope apologist, so I wanted to give her a happier ending than what she got.
> 
> Please let me know what you think! I'm open to any and all feedback, criticism, etc.!
> 
> Thank you for reading. <3


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